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The thoracic anatomy of the male and female winter moth Nyssiodes lefuarius (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) and evolutionary changes in the thorax of moths and butterflies

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Abstract

The thoraces of males and flightless females of the geometrid winter moth Nyssiodes lefuarius are described, documented in detail, and compared. Morphological, functional, and evolutionary aspects of the female phenotype are discussed. The flightlessness of female N. lefuarius is linked not only with complex modifications of the skeletomuscular structure, especially elements of the flight apparatus, but also with greatly enlarged ovaries and a reduced gut. Compared with other flightless female lepidopterans, females of N. lefuarius display a specific thoracic skeletomuscular configuration, which strongly suggests independent evolution, in agreement with the phylogenetic pattern. The evolutionary scenario of flight ability enhancement in Lepidoptera is demonstrated using a combined phylogeny from recent studies based on molecular data. Thoracic skeletomuscular characters are compiled and mapped, mainly using extensive information from the literature, but also including the new morphological data obtained from the male N. lefuarius. Important changes in the thoracic character system are linked with the rise of Coelolepida, Heteroneura, and Ditrysia. Only minor changes take place in the character system in more advanced groups of Lepidoptera. A highly unusual feature is the secondarily stiff wing type in some groups of Ditrysia without the neopteran basal folding mechanism. The morphological background of the secondarily evolved “palaeopteran” condition is a complex of different character changes. Major problems in the reconstruction of the phylogeny are a high degree of homoplasy and missing detailed data for several crucial taxa emerging close to the root of the order.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Dr. Thomas Simonsen, Dr. Maria Heikkilä, Dr. Frank Friedrich, and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable comments, recommendations, and criticisms, which have enormously helped to improve this study. Their help with literature sources is also greatly appreciated. Great thanks are also due to Prof. Dr. Stanislav Gorb (Zoological Institute, Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Kiel University) for providing μ-CT scans. This project is financially supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 642241.

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  1. Institut für Spezielle Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, FSU Jena, 07743, Jena, Germany

    Si -Pei Liu, Benjamin Wipfler & Rolf G. Beutel

  2. Department of Biology, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Minamiosawa 1-1, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan

    Shuhei Niitsu

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Appendix 1

Combined muscular and skeletal data of all studied taxa (XLSX 337 kb)

Appendix 2

Muscular homology chart (XLSX 75 kb)

Appendix 3

Characters for mapping analysis (XLSX 60 kb)

Appendix 4

Character matrix (XLSX 92 kb)

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Liu, S.P., Wipfler, B., Niitsu, S. et al. The thoracic anatomy of the male and female winter moth Nyssiodes lefuarius (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) and evolutionary changes in the thorax of moths and butterflies. Org Divers Evol 17, 565–594 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-017-0328-4

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